Method of transferring loops from dial needles to cylinder needles



Nov. 3,

Filed July 13 1950 E. s1. PIERRE 2, 57,560 METHOD OF TRANSFERRING LOOPS} FROM, DIAL NEEDLES TO CYLINDER NEEDLES 2 Sheets-Sheet l /9 /3 4 45. [mm/r022:

I I [(165%5 .S'THEPRE; /s fl RE G LO LES TO CYLINDER 2,657,560 OPS FROM NEEDLES E. ST. PIER METHOD OF TRANSFERRIN DIAL NEED Nov. 3, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 15 1950 Fla. 6".

f/VI ENTOE/ IZ/GZ'JVE'JIHEJPREJ Patenteri Nov. 3, 1 953 UNITED STATES ATENT OFF METHOD OF TRANSFERRING LOOPS FROM :11] DIAL NEEDLES TO CYLINDER NEEDLES Eugene St. Pierre, Pawtucket, R. 1., assignor to Hemphill Company, Central Falls, R. I., a corporation of Massachusetts Application July 13, 1950, Serial No. 17 3,561

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in brakes for dials such as are commonly used on certain types of circular, independent needle, knitting machines.

As is well known, dial and cylinder machines are widely used for the making of hosiery having ribbed tops followed by legs, the transfer between them being automatically effected. At the time of transfer, when the loops on the dial needles are shifted to cylinder needles it is essential that the dial and cylinder needles be Very accurately positioned with respect to each other. It is inevitable that there will be at least a small amount of lost motion in the gears and other dial driving connections which is bound to increase with wear. Also, the dial shaft is of limited size and heavy strain is placed upon it when the dial needles are projected for transferring so that a certain amount of give or twist of the shaft is likely to occur. By the use of a brake which exerts a light retarding force upon the dial, these disturbing elements are eliminated. However, it has been the practice to position this brake at the upper end of the dial shaft which is several inches above the dial itself. While this has minimized the difiiculties, it has not eliminated them entirely because some of them occur in the area between the brake and the dial proper.

By this invention, the brake works directly upon the dial itself and utilizes the standard parts otherwise necessary with few additions. By simple very small alterations in the action of one of these parts the desired braking effect is obtained.

One form of the invention is shown in the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a view partly in section of a part of a dial;

Fig. 2 is a view also partly in section of a dial and part of the mechanism by which it is operated;

Fig. 3 is a view of the remainder of the operating mechanism; and

Fig. 4 is a plan view, partly in section, of the dial and part of the operating mechanism referred to.

In Figs. 1 and 2, a conventional dial I and dial cap 2 are shown such as are used for example on a circular, independent needle, dial and cylinder knitting machine of the well-known Banner type and also adial needle transfer cam 3 to which a stud 4 is connected, this stud being mounted upon the dial cam 3 so that it is capable of limited vertical movement only. Normally stud 4 and can 3 are maintained in an upper position 2 by spring 5 surrounding stud 4 between the housing for the stud and nuts such as 6 by which the effective strength of spring 5 may be regulated.

In the type of machine illustrated and described herein, the dial needles do not operatively contact dial cam 3 at any time except when they are projected for transferring. At that time, another dial cam so alters the path along which the dial needles travel that their butts will engage transfer cam 3 and the needles will be projected the necessary distance for transferring. Therefore, dial cam 3 is a fixed cam with the exception that it i capable of vertical movement. This movement need be only sufficient to cause the cam to clear the surface of the dial so as not to impose unnecessary frictional resistance when the dial is operating to knit rib fabric. When the time for transferring arrives, cam 3 is moved downward by means acting upon stud 4 which will be described, until it engages the butts of the transfer needles and the face of the dial and, consequently, acts as a brake at the same time that it projects needles for transfer so that all factors tending to affect the relative positions of the dial and cylinder needles will be stabilized during transfer and the variations inherent in a dial which is braked at a considerable distance from itself are eliminated. In this way, an exceedingly effective and accurate alignment of needles is secured by modifying the usual dial structure only by the changes required to make dial cam 3 movable through a few thousandths of an inch. This of course does not impair the camming functions of dial cam 3.

The means for operating cam 3 so that it functions as a brake is shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. Lever i, pivoted upon any suitable rigid part of the machine, overlies the upper end of a lever 8 best shown in Fig. 4 which is pivoted upon a bracket 9. One end Hi of lever 8 underlies the end of lever l and the other end carries a pivoted connection it into which a rod i2 is threaded. The other end of rod I2 is freely slidable through a collar l3 attached to a rocker I I which normally rests upon the surface of a drum l5 and is engageable by a cam [6 upon the drum. The lower end of rod l2 below the point at which it passes through the collar I3 is surrounded by a spring l1 which is retained by an adjustable collar l8.

Normally rocker I4 is maintained in contact with drum 15 in the full line position as shown in Fig. 3, by a spring l9. Since rocker I4 is freely slidable upon rod. l2 it has no effect, when in this position, upon transfer cam 3 which is main- 3 tained in its uppermost non-braking position by spring 5. When the dial needles are to be pro- J'ected for transferring, the rotation of drum I5 will cause cam 16 to pass under the nose of rocker l4 so that the other end thereof is swun downwardly along rod I2 to compress spring I! and thus to energizerod l2, lever 8 andtleverl; to depress stud 4 and; consequently; dial cam 3- into engagement with the surface of the dial.

engage butts on dial needles and simultaneously to engage frictionally the upper face of the dial to exert a positive braking pressure on said face simultaneously with the projection of the dial needles for transfer, thereby insuring a, proper relationship between the dial and cylinder needies, duringutransier.

1 EUGENE STH' PIERRE.

The degree of braking force thus exerted upon-r 1 1 References Cited in the file of this patent the dial by transfer cam 3-.isrde ermined,big-the, effective strength of spring l 'lcwlt bhtinrturn is;-

determined by the position of collar [8.

I claim:

A method of transferring loops of kmtted'--faflc 1:5= gelgafizfi? ric from dial needles to cylinder needles of a circular, independent needle, iknitting machinewy which includes causing the dial transfer cam to UNITED. STATES PATENTS 'Number Name Date 2,079,298 eeMcAdams May 4, 1937 v rluawson et a1. Apr. 30, 1940 2 2,55V,Qfi8:-- 1 uLawson et a1. Sept. 9, 1941 2,433,931 St. Pierre Jan. 6, 1948 

